The Game
by Zombiifissh
Summary: Wherein Hiei gets bored and Kurama challenges him to a round of tag... Makai style. Much violence and painful things. Rated to be safe. Oneshot.


A/N: This is just something my mind blipped (blip as in the dot on a radar) up while I was in the car in the Wal-Mart parking lot listening to Pink Floyd's "Welcome To The Machine." Yup, these things come to me at the oddest times, don't they? WARNING: Slight yaoi and lots of brutality. But you should expect that from me by now, huh?

Hiei ran, stumbling, through the trees of the Makai. Every movement the wind made, he would watch warily, and any slight noise the leaves made, he jumped at. He flitted around the interior of the forest. If he could not be caught by sundown, then he would win the game he was playing.

**---FLASHBACK---**

_Hiei sighed, splayed out on Kurama's bed. Kurama looked up from some homework on his desk and smiled at Hiei. "You look bored," he said to his mate._

_Hiei looked up. "So? Unless you're going to do something about it, leave me alone."_

_Kurama chuckled. "Actually, I was feeling a bit bored myself, so I've been thinking up a game. Want to hear out my idea?" Hiei paused, then looked up with interest. "All right, this is what I was thinking: we can go to Makai to play, since it is a prime location for what the game is. We'll find a forest, and if I can't get you to say 'I submit' by sundown, you win. But if you do say 'I submit,' then I win. What do you think?"_

**---END FLASHBACK---**

Hiei zipped to his left as a thorny vine came out of nowhere to grab at his legs. He dodged it and kept on running. It was impossible to keep still in the forest, because as soon as he did, he would be attacked by about thirty different kinds of plants at the same time, forcing him to push his skills farther than he normally would to get away. He ran straight for the center of the wood."

**---FLASHBACK---**

"_It's… interesting," Hiei replied. "But it sounds like an excuse to get me to beg for you," he added darkly. _

_Kurama looked at him in indignation. "Hiei, what a thing to say! Of course it isn't! Just think of it as special training for both of us."_

"_Hmm." Hiei nodded. _

"_I have one condition, however." Hiei raised an eyebrow. "You're not allowed to use the Dragon, and I won't use my body. Okay?"_

"_That's hardly fair. I'd win hands down."_

"_Remember, though: you're not trying to get me to submit, you're only trying to keep from submitting yourself," Kurama said matter-of-factly._

_Hiei shrugged and sat up. "All right, fine. But you're still going to lose."_

_Kurama smiled._

­**---END FLASHBACK---**

Hiei came to a clearing, bruised and slightly cut on his arms. Damn that Kurama! He didn't _need_ to use his body at all, so his 'condition' was really just a handicap. Little cheater! Hiei 'hn'-ed and glanced around, waiting for some trap to spring.

He didn't have to wait long. The grass under him suddenly became barbed and sharp. He jumped away from them into a tree, immediately having to jump away again, as the tree had just tried to knock his head off. 'Just a little longer,' he thought, noting the low sun.

**---FLASHBACK---**

_Both demons breathed deep the air of the Makai, their home. Kurama led Hiei to a nearby forest on top of a hill. "This will be a good place to play, don't you think?" he asked after quickly scanning the empty forest._

"_Hn." The usual reply._

"_Good. Then the game starts now." Hiei turned to Kurama and found himself skewered through the shoulder. He gaped at the redhead. "I suggest you start running," Kurama said as the plant pulled out of Hiei. It swung at his ankle, and Hiei disappeared into the forest._

_He had been confident that he could win, but thinking back on the fox's ruthless tactics in battle, now he wasn't so sure…_

**---END FLASHBACK---**

Kurama stepped into the clearing. Hiei glared at him, flitting off again. 'Have to go faster… away from him. Faster! Can't go faster. Damn it! Why can't I go faster?' Hiei's thoughts were disjointed and clipped. He wondered why this was—could it have been that initial stab in the shoulder?—but didn't have much time to think about it, as razor-sharp leaves rained down from the tops of the trees. He spun to the side, narrowly dodging most of the leaves, and making sure the others only hit his limbs. The damn things still stung, though. He was off again, heading to the center of the forest.

Grinning, Kurama followed him.

Hiei arrived at the forests core, bleeding from his arms and legs, and also from a new cut underneath his right eye. His breathing was a bit heavier than normal as he stopped in another clearing, larger than the last. A voice sounded behind him suddenly, making him jump.

"Give up yet?"

"You wish," Hiei retorted, hiding the quiver in his voice. Kurama calmly looked up at the sky.

"I don't have much time left, Hiei. My efforts will increase form this point on. I hope you can handle this."

Hiei glared and growled at him. "You're going to lose, you—" The words were caught in Hiei's throat as they met with a scream, the resulting sound coming out as a low yell of pain. A tree root had pierced Hiei's right ankle.

The little demon dropped to one knee and tried out pull out the root, but another sprouted from the dirt and pierced his other ankle. He growled loudly through clenched teeth.

The roots ripped out of Hiei's ankles unmercifully, throwing him into a wall of pain. He didn't have time to flit away before the roots holding his legs wrapped themselves around his ankles and wound themselves around his calves. Any pressure he put on his feet hurt too much for him to jump away, and with the roots holding his legs, he could not move.

"Do you give up now?" Kurama asked, now five feet from the little demon.

Hiei growled and set himself ablaze, incinerating the roots off his legs. He bounced backwards, away from the fox, wincing.

"That won't do," Kurama said impatiently. "The sun's too low for that." He flared his ki and some red-colored, vein-like strands of plant matter spiraled lazily from the ground. They almost looked like Kurama's hair, they were so wispy.

The way the wind easily moved them belied their speed and strength, however. In an instant, these plants had bound Hiei's legs like the other roots had. He lit himself on fire again, only this time he was surprised as the plants' hold grew stronger and they did not burn. **(Final Fantasy rule of thumb: YOU CAN'T BURN RED ENEMIES! RED ENEMIES ARE IMMUNE TO FIRE!)**

"They're the veins that grow in the leaves of a plant called the pyrovine. They grow mostly in volcanoes, so they thrive on fire and heat. Do you like them?" Kurama asked, now closer to Hiei. "Submit, Hiei. I'm going to win."

"I won't," Hiei said stubbornly. Kurama sighed.

"This is going to hurt," he said darkly.

More of the pyrovine's veins wrapped around Hiei's wrists and forearms. They pulled each arm across his chest far enough that his fingertips brushed his spine. He grimaced; he could feel the muscles tearing in his shoulders as they jerked out of their sockets. "I…won't!" he hissed.

Kurama looked at him with emotionless eyes. "I'm going to win, Hiei. I can be just as proud and as stubborn as you."

'I won't… All I have to do is hold out until the sun goes down. That's it. I won't. I won't. I won't.,' Hiei thought desperately.

Kurama shook his head. A thicker vine sprouted from just behind Hiei's feet as the pyrovines lifted him into the air tow feet high. The thicker vine traced the contour of Hiei's spine and pressed upward, forcing Hiei to arch his back, incidentally pulling on his wrists and ankles.

He groaned loudly as his shoulders continued to tear and his mind began to reel with the pain. Sounds he was not aware of before now became known to him: his labored breathing, his own unintelligible words of pain, the actual pulling and tearing of his shoulders…

SNAP! CRACK!

Hiei yelled as his hips popped out of their sockets as well; the vine at his back pushing ever skywards. He threw his head back as he yelled, only to have it caught by the end of the vine creeping up his back.

The green vine had snaked up and around his neck as it had pushed his back up, and it now was attempting to choke him. It traced the line of his jaw before slithering across his lips to gag him.

Hiei bit down hard on the vine and tore through it, only afterwards realizing with dismay that the moment he'd bitten through, the innards of the vine had exploded with pus and a foul green liquid. He coughed and choked on it, managing to spit most of it out as the rest trickled down his throat. He gagged, sputtering, instantly feeling ten times worse.

In a last-ditch attempt to save himself, Hiei changed forms. His skin took on a green tinge and eyes sprouted form his body. This body was tougher than his other, and he felt the pain subside a little.

Kurama shook his head. "You shouldn't have bitten that," he said warningly. "It's a lethal toxin that acts as an acid and will dissolve your insides in about twenty-four hours. I can give you the antidote… if you just say those words."

'I won't, I won't, I won't, I won't…' "I won't, I won't, I won't…" Hiei's thoughts came through as words without him meaning to. He wasn't aware of many things, as the intense agony was blocking out most all else.

"You sound like you're trying to convince yourself," Kurama said calmly. Hiei shook his head, teeth bared. "Just say it, Hiei," Kurama said, sounding irritated. Hiei shook his head once, and groaned in the back of his throat.

Kurama sighed and shook his head as well. 'Stubborn fool, you bring this on yourself.'

Dark green vines with a hint of blue in them burst from the ground, sending dirt everywhere. They tore apart Hiei's shirt and flung the rags to the ground. They poised, positioned themselves, coiled, and sprang forward, burrowing into all the eye sockets on Hiei's upper body, sparing only his face.

The pain was nearly unbearable for the fire demon. It was as if every nerve in each of his eyes was being slowly ripped out of its connector, tearing and burning before finally snapping. Little pinpricks of pain welled in each eye before it reached an explosive caliber and _popped_ with a horrible sensation, sending spots of blackness across Hiei's vision.

Another of the blue-green vines came out of the ground before Hiei, still suspended in midair. It knotted over itself three times before the other dark vines stopped moving, though they did not remove themselves from Hiei's bleeding eyes. The knotted vine clasped Hiei's right foot and began to spiral around it, making sure to touch Hiei's leg as it wound upwards, spreading more vines to actually grow on his skin.

The vines did not stop at Hiei's knees, not at his thighs. Hiei was not in so much pain now, and suddenly became aware of the destination of the plants.

"Oh _no_," he whispered hoarsely. The newer vine shoots had spread to Hiei's other leg, continuing to grow and forcing his legs apart. "No, no, fox, stop this, you don't have to go this far, don't do this, don't—" His whispers were cut off sharply by a pained, animalistic scream as a new vine was added to the collection now inside him. Every one of them started to thrash again, causing him to buck and arch, groaning and yelling in agony.

Deciding Hiei had had enough, Kurama recalled his plants. All the vines retracted as one, wrenching out of Hiei violently. Hiei had reverted back to his human form some time ago, not having enough energy left to sustain his demon form.

Hiei fell and hit the ground with a low, dull thud. He lay quivering on his side, still bleeding from where his eyes used to be. He was unable to move his limbs, popped out of their sockets as they were.

"I think I've won," Kurama said gently, kneeling next to the Koorime. Hiei scowled at him angrily.

"You haven't won yet," he growled. "I n-never said I submit! You…" He trailed off as he watched Kurama smirk. He grimaced and groaned as he let his head fall to the ground.

"I believe _that _counts as a victory for me, Hiei," Kurama said in his own quietly triumphant way. Hiei didn't move. Kurama looked at him with concern in his eyes. "Come on, Hiei. I'll take you back to my house and fix you up." He reached out to touch Hiei, but the smaller one flinched away from his fingers. Kurama frowned sadly and slipped his arms under Hiei's knees and across the back of his shoulders. He lifted Hiei up, all four of his limbs heavy and limp. Hiei looked up at Kurama reproachfully. Kurama looked down at him as he walked, eyes silently asking if he was going to be all right.

"…You didn't have to go that far, bastard," Hiei said shamefully. All the yelling he had done had made his voice hoarse and quiet.

"I'm sorry, Hiei," Kurama said soothingly. "Listen, when we get home, I'll do something extra special for you to make up for it. Okay?" Hiei nodded, then groaned again. A sharp, fizzy pain had started to form in his stomach. Kurama remembered the green vine's toxin.

He quickly lay Hiei down and summoned a purple flowed from a seed he pulled from his hair. "Hiei, do you trust me? At least enough to let me give you the antidote?" Hiei blinked up at him silently. He nodded. "All right. You need to drink this, but only take one swallow." Kurama lifted Hiei's upper body and brought the flower to his mouth. He drank awkwardly, shuddering at the bitter taste of the flower's nectar. Kurama pulled the flower away and looked at Hiei intently, reverting the flower back into a seed. "It's going to make you sleepy," he warned, his voice more at ease now that Hiei had taken the remedy.

Hiei was already starting to feel the effects of it. His stomach didn't hurt anymore, and, just as Kurama had said, he was getting very tired. His eyelids drooped as he felt himself being lifted into his mate's strong arms again.

"You're still a bastard…" Hiei said, trailing off. He shook his head once, trying to stay awake.

"I'll do something extra special for you when we get back, okay?" Kurama repeated to the tiny Koorime. Hiei looked up at him with fluttering eyelids.

"Promise?" he sighed sleepily. His eyes were already half-lidded, too tired now to argue with his fox.

Kurama smiled and leaned down to place a kiss just above Hiei's left eyebrow. "I promise," he assured quietly.

Hiei's eyes started to close further. He turned his face into Kurama's chest as his way of accepting Kurama's offer. Kurama gently smiled wider as Hiei's head leaned into him as he drifted into utter sleep, still a bit disappointed that he'd lost their game.

**---END---**


End file.
